So these issues come up on other threads quite often and merit a thread of their own. If such a thread exists already, apologies and please let me know. I put football and hurling together so that rantsters like me can offload the angst on one thread instead of two, while others will only want to refer to one sport, and can do so!
My take on it. There are loads of positives in relation to fitness, skill-levels etc but these come at a price. In football, it’s often hard to watch, with blanket-defences and hand-passing taking over. I think we need to try radical changes at the very top, even if they are way outside our comfort zone. Sadly, I think me must penalise behaviours to stop them. A shot-clock, as @LondonJack suggested, would be worth a look but the major one for me would be to reduce teams to 13 a side. Make the blanket simply impossible. There’s loads of other ideas but that is a starter.
In hurling, where do you go? The second-hand fouling has to go. Scoring from 110 yards for fun is not ideal either, with a sliotar that is now like a tennis ball! What’s to be done?
In hurling, ban lifting the ball to take it into the hand. If you want to catch the ball, you do it in flight. I don’t mind if that includes after the ball has bounced. It will increase and improve ground hurling. I think that it should certainly be trialled.
I don’t mind players scoring points from over 90-100 yards. I think that it’s an art form and a way of beating cynical fouling and blanket defences. Maybe in football award two points for putting the ball over the bar from outside a certain distance.
Football, black card for deliberate pull down of opponent, amend the rule to allow the referee award a penalty goal when a player in a goal scoring opportunity (eg player inside the Arc or 20m line thru on goal gets pulled /dragged down) and prevented the opportunity of scoring a goal, (think penalty try in rugby), Current punishment just doesn’t fit the crime.
The most offensive rule change in recent times is the ‘Mark’. Aussie Rules nonsense. It has to be eradicated from our game. I’d leave the Hurling alone. ( bar two points for a sideline cut over the bar maybe)
The game is all about possession now, going to ground hurling will just get rid of that and make it a lottery and will turn it into a juvenile game and probably create more rucks than anything especially outside of Inter county games.
Hurling rules don’t need a change.
GAA are a great bunch for changing things just for the the sake of it.
Almost afraid to suggest a rule change for hurling but here goes … the modern sliothar enables frees to be put over the bar from almost the goal line (exaggeration I know).
Adds nothing to the game.
Some limit on the distance a converted free (point) is allowed.
I fully agree with Beeko. I would say, allow a jab or roll lift onto the hurl but a ball picked up must stay on the stick and be played off it, not kept in the hand for the 8 -12 steps! Sure try it in the cup competitions. Why not? The possession game is horrible and when played with children’s sized sticks, it takes ground hurling, pulling in the air, hooking/blocking almost completely out of the game. I’d prefer ‘hockey’ to soccer-with-sticks!
Two best goals I’ve ever seen were John Fenton’s strike from the ground v Limerick in a Munster Championship game in Thurles c. 1986 and a Jimmy Barry Murphy in an All-Ireland semi final v Galway in 1983. You won’t see either scored again, given the way the game is played.
I don’t mind seeing players making high catches but they’re less skillful if their direct opponent is also trying to catch the ball instead of seeing someone making a high catch whilst protecting their catching hand from someone doubling on the ball. Give me Teddy Mc, Tony Doran and George O’Connor any day!
No clean and accurate striking off the ground the way Adrian Fenlon, John Gardiner and Fenton used to.
The shoulder-to-shoulder clash is gone. Now it’s a wrestle to see who can do a roll lift with his 30’ hurl.
Exactly. Running, soloing and handpassing, in both hurling and football, have been used by coaches of less skilful teams to negate teams who kick/hurl very well. We need to turn that on its head.
